(one synonym: Epicoma zelotina Strand, 1929)
THAUMETOPOEINAE , NOTODONTIDAE , NOCTUOIDEA
Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, from
Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art
The Caterpillars of this species have been found feeding communally on the foliage of :
The caterpillars feed nocturnally, hiding by day under bark or ground debris.
The male adult moths have forewings that are pearly white with a beaded margin, each having a brown submarginal line and central dark patch with a yellow spot in the middle. The hindwings are yellow with a dark submarginal band. The abdomen is brown with a yellow tuft of hairs on the tip.
The females look rather different. They have fawn speckled forewings with a brown costa and central spot. The hindwings are plain dark brown. The wings have beaded margins. The abdomen is brown with yellow markings.
Both have a wingspan of about 3 cms.
This species occurs in :
Further reading :
Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 179.
A. Jefferis Turner,
New Australian Lepidoptera,
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
Volume 26 (1902), p. 183.
(updated 11 October 2011)